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By: Jackie Bledsoe
Almost every successful company, organization, and institution has a mission statement. Apple, Nike, the YMCA, Harvard, and Stanford all have mission statements. All are some of the most successful organizations and institutions in the world.
If you do a poll of successful individuals you will likely find they have some form of written mission or vision statement that has been a guide for their actions, basis for their goals, and a foundation for their decisions.
So, if successful organizations, institutions, and successful individuals have mission statements, should homeschoolers have mission statements? Yes, if we want them to thrive, to flourish, and to have a great educational foundation for our children. Below I share what a homeschooling mission statement can do and how you can create one.
What is a Mission Statement?
A quick Google search will provide you with multiple variations of a mission statement. For this post we are going to focus on a mission statement being an answer to the question, “Why?” Why does this organization, this institution, this group exist? For homeschooling families, your mission statement may answer the following question: “Why are we homeschooling?”
Why a Homeschooling Mission Statement?
Who cares why a family is homeschooling? The homeschooling family does, that is who! We are a homeschooling family, and I admit it can be very challenging at times. As is anything worth doing. When we are in the midst of the challenging times, and want to send our kids off to boarding school (not just public school!), firmly understanding why we are homeschooling is vital! The “why” keeps us going by bringing back all the good, warm and fuzzy reasons we chose a homeschooling lifestyle. 🙂
How Do You Create a Homeschooling Mission Statement?
Your homeschooling mission statement is going to clarify the “why” of homeschooling for your family. To determine your why, you need to know what you are trying to achieve. You need to have some goals. If you set goals based on your answers to the following questions you can create a simple, yet compelling homeschooling mission statement for your family.
- What are your learning goals for your kids, and for you? Homeschooling parents learn (a lot)!
- What is the purpose of the skills your children will learn? How will they use them in life?
- What type of environment do you want to create for your homeschooling?
- What do you want to accomplish by homeschooling that you couldn’t (or couldn’t accomplish as well) through traditional schooling?
- How much time will you devote to homeschooling on a short-term, mid-term, and long-term basis?
Whether you are homeschooling or not, a school or education mission statement will serve as a great guide, and reference to keep you motivated and heading in the direction you desire.
Begin talking about it with your family, and write your own. I then suggest you display it in a very visible place for all in your family, and begin to live it out!
Question: What are some homeschooling or educational goals you have for your family? Please share in the comment section below.